NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Junior Jason Aigner scorched the Freeman Center nets Saturday for a career-high 30 points as the Captains registered their tenth straight victory. Christopher Newport downed Mary Washington, 81-68, to improve to 17-4 overall and 6-0 atop the Capital Athletic Conference. 

Aigner, coming off a 21-point performance on Wednesday in a victory over St. Mary's, set a new school mark for three-pointers in a half with eight in the opening stanza as the Captains built a 42-25 advantage at the break. He out-scored the Eagles by himself in the first 20 minutes, 26-25, and finished just one shy of the school record for triples in a game while surpassing his previous career high of 27 points..

"The old saying is that big players step up in big games, and Jason really rose to the top today," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "What he did in the first half got us going, and then we had to withstand their charge in the second half to hold them off. I think we got better as a team today, and the way we held off their rally will help us down the road."

The Captains went up in the second half by as many as 22 points, 64-42, with 9:50 to play. The Eagles then rallied, going on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to 11, 66-55.  Mary Washington, now 12-9 and 2-4, eventually cut the Captains' lead to nine, 76-67, with 2:13 left on the clock, but could get no closer as the Captains improved to 10-1 at home this season.

Senior Dalon McHugh II recorded his fourth straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Cutch Ellis and freshman Ian Anderson also reached double digits with ten points each. Christopher Newport out-rebounded Mary Washington, 44-43, and the Captains have still not been out-rebounded by an opponent this season. The Captains held the Eagles to just 38 percent shooting for the day (24 of 64). Junior Anias Saunders and sophomore Da'Shawn Cook led the Eagles with 16 points each.

Christopher Newport's bench provided much-needed production in the second half, with 19 of CNU's 21 bench points for the day coming after halftime. Anderson scored all ten of his points while senior Luther Gibbs scored seven of his nine in the second half.

A crowd of 1,349 watched the Captains victory as well as the Christopher Newport University Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony, as seven new members were honored at halftime of Saturday's game. The new members include Gretchen Jewell (Cheerleading), Marlene Lichty (Field Hockey), Ashton Marshall (Women's Lacrosse), Sean Moriarty (Men's Soccer), Richard Roethel (Men's Track & Field), Steve Shaw (Men's Soccer-Coach), and Judy Stenzhorn (CNU Athletics Administrator). 

The victory was the second this year for the Captains over UMW, and Christopher Newport now holds a 31-7 lead in the all-time series. The Captains posted a 97-84 verdict two weeks ago in Fredericksburg over the Eagles.

The Captains maintained their one-game lead in the CAC, and will now play their next two games on the road. Christopher Newport travels to St. Mary's City, Md., on Wednesday to take on the Seahawks of St. Mary's College. Tipoff time is set for 7:00 p.m.

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